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The Hillman IMP is the spiritual grandad of the Peugeot 106! I was in the drawing office in Coventry when the Imp was designed then upgraded and given the different dash in the MK3! When Chrysler sold the company to the PSA group in France there were some designs done in France and some in Coventry the106 was the closest model to the IMP in terms of size and ability even with the engine in the front! Both were brilliant at what they were supposed to do!

I had one , I put an old blanket in the front boot and placed a paving slab on it to keep the front down

Great stuff, I first met Judith mid-late 90's when she'd appear on a kids tv show I filmed at Scottish Television, telling spooky stories of old Glasgow and beyond. She was talking about The Panoticon then and took us over to see it in all its dark anf still largely covered up magnificence. A short tv documentary followed, some of which I filmed, and the restoration show was firmly on the road. I believe great strides have been made since then and I really should pay another visit. I was in The Belasco Theatre in Los Angeles a couple of days ago, a similar historical 'music hall' type venue in a baroque style. I couldn't help but recall the old Panopticon from back in the day.

what a lovely looking imp well not an imp ins a singer but but its stiled round the imp but never mind its a lovely looking spesiman of that iconic car the imp ?

What a stinker! They don't show you the engine bay, very little (or nothing) of the interior, and the name badge is different. I'm sure it is lovely but one cannot tell from this video.

Overheated ,engine rebuild, gearbox went,head gasket blew no, nothing but trouble

I had trouble with mine rubbish

The Imp one of the most-loved cars!!!!!!!! Hard to believe that.

Nicely shot video!

i rebuilt many an imp engine ,always built them a little on the tight side (bored slightly smaller and the crank slightly larger than nominal) run in with care and patience,but when they were run in they would fly along,twats for the sender units seizing solid

My first cars were a Hillman Imp which was awful and then I couldn't resist a Sunbeam Stilleto which had so many problems. I loved the look of these cars but a complete nightmare. Poor build quality and engines used to blow up.

It’s a pity all the factory strikes and poor build quality of these killed the sales, the factory and pretty much the whole brand. I guess that’s what happens when Governments intervene in business ….

Very nice. I would like to own this car.

Hillman imp was my 1st rally car loved it

the hillman imps engine was not under the bonnet,it was at the rear, made from aluminium.

This Hillman Imp is actually a Singer Chamois, the more upmarket model. Rootes cars were badge engineered as Hillman (basic), Singer (upmarket), Humber (luxurious), Sunbeam (sporting) and Commer (commercial). Many people refer to a Hillman Hunter even if the car is a Minx, Gazelle, Vogue or Sceptre.

Great👍🚘

Good 😊

I driven one years ago it was like a biscute tin on castor wheels but some will have rose tinted memories there.

What an absolute load of rubbish that was. You begin by referring to a Singer Chamois as a Hillman Imp. It was a couple of minutes In before you referred to the car by its proper name. Not once did I hear you mention anything about the logistical issues pertaining to the car. I’m sure had it been built at Ryton-on-Dunsmore then far more cars would have been produced/sold than actually were. The Linwood plant was a disaster from day one. Built using a government grant, it produced engine castings which had to be shipped to Ryton to be machined before being sent by rail back to Linwood to be assembled into the car. A lot of the components were sourced from Rootes suppliers, primarily in the Midlands, and shipped up to Linwood. The people of Linwood had previously been ship builders, with no experience of motor car building whatsoever. The car began its life with numerous quality issues, some of which were never really resolved. The fundamental theory of the Imp was very good. It had many excellent virtues, and should have been much more of a competitor to the Mini than it actually was I suggest that maybe you revisit your drive of the car and make the accompanying dialogue more factual and realistic.

The name was "The Argyll" not Argyle

Drain the cooling system every year refill it with 11 and a half pints of water at a 25% antifreeze ratio they will never overheat, people left just water in the cooling system which dissolved the aluminium block from the inside out, which caused an aluminium sludge build up in the cooling system that the water pump couldn't pump, hence the frequent overheating

Nicely done.

Dundee museum of transport own one which will be on show at Glasgow Science centre for cop26 2021.

Loved going to see movies here 🎞👍

fab

So much history here.... An early example of regional policy.... Taking the work to where former ship-builders needed it and were skilled. A clever, clever design. The equal of the BMC mini, but without the cure looks and the celebrity endorsement. Neither was the "better" car. Both were good. The Imp was a "nearly" car. Nearly had a good reputation. Nearly got recognised for the genius of its design. Nearly reliable. And now.... something of a classic. Rightly so.

What an amazing feeling it must be to know you are playing a building. And then to think it's the oldest medieval building in Scotland and a cathedral built by master builders.

My very first car. Was a pain but I loved it! Pneumatic accelerator, over heated and leaked oil but such fun

I had one of the very first ones with a vacuum throttle, anyone remember those, also had a Californian, Stilletto, and a basic Imp. I loved the stilletto, racy padded dash with loads of idiot lights, lumpy cam, twin carbs, oil cooler, 4 branch manifold exhaust system, and bigger valves, she could shift, faster than the mini 1275 cooper s Cause I raced quite a few of them because they’re owners thought they could beat me, no waaaat man lol. I had a love hate relationship with them, I loved them right up until they started overheating 🥵 , what a pain....really.....got my right arm roasted taking the radiator cap off after the head warped and the engine overheated. But they have a place in my heart 💖 now. 😎👍👍👍🇬🇧

I remember these very well, by 1980 when I started to drive these were considered unreliable, and they were very cheap. In fact the unreliable reputation was mostly undeserved, because owners didn’t appreciate the important considerations of maintaining the cooling system in good order. In fact they were well built good little cars, in my opinion.

Great cars! The Imp was my first car and I passed my test in my mum's Yellow Gold Imp Californian still around today I believe....would love to have mine back again.

Thank you!

3:30 "so you could say scotland paved the way for electric cars". Except they were around in the 20's................ When that prize Nicholas Surgeon dreamer of Scots Imperialism wasn't even drawing a pension...

Love this wee car !

My dad had one in the 60s and was nothing but trouble. Can remember going up a hill in Devon and feeling terrified we'd never reach the top. We did it in first gear. So when I had the offer to buy my first car in 1979 and it was a Hillman Imp I was a bit unsure. But do you know for the five years I had it it was great. Even though it could only get up to 50 miles an hour it got me from A to B. Loved that car.

Moji omiljeni auti grupe rottes , Hillman i Sunbeam. Pozdrav iz Hrvatske.

Used to see one of these parked round the corner from me walking to school as a kid.

Brilliant well done Bonny Lass more power to high jinks ! Visited on Sunday great and you can buy Glasgow candy rock at the sweet shop on the corner.

I I hired one back in the 60s to drive from London to the South East Coast. Pleasure to drive. Please of power for its day. I would prefer one to a Mini any time.

Amazing looking car. Its a shame they cant make one in todays world that looks exactly the same but with a better engine with modern technology

I love this car even though it’s got panel gaps you can see from the moon....

Back in the day I owned an Imp ! I loved it's looks ! However, it was too light on the front end ! My husband cured this by placing two large concrete blocks in the boot ( front ) . Imagine , I actually thought that he was clever to do that ! Before MOT's . But it did the trick !! How dangerous ! But it never crossed our minds 😂🤔 !

estuve uno notenia motor por notener esperiensia lo canbie por una visicl

Biggest piece of crap I've ever owned.. Spent most of the time on blocks too many different metals in the engine.

Grandfather was the chief designer of the Hilman Imp...Definitely going to buy one some day

The basement of the Royal Oak. Saw him there 2017. Go Simon go.

What a guitar player! Really catchy song too, love it! Tommy

Body styling was "inspired" by the Chevy Corvair -- compare the two and you'll see what I mean.

well pleyd